July 23, 2003 -- CUNA Mutual Group is partnering with risk management provider Primary Payment Systems (PPS) to help credit unions combat the growing incidence of check fraud.
PPS, a Concord Risk Management Company located in Scottsdale, AZ, offers products and services to the financial services industry through its suite of Early Warning solutions. Using a common platform maintained and safeguarded by PPS, industry participants contribute and share information to detect high-risk deposits, payments and individuals.
“PPS is a recognized fraud prevention expert,” said Al Stendahl, CUNA Mutual Vice President. “Through our relationship with PPS, CUNA Mutual will enhance its Credit Union Protection expertise and service to Bond policy owner credit unions by providing integrated loss prevention solutions to help deter check and identity related fraud losses”.
CUNA Mutual’s loss prevention solutions currently include focused risk management attention and front-line staff training. The PPS suite of tools including DEPOSIT CHEK and DECISION CHEK for deposit and payment risk management, and IDENTITY CHEK for meeting member identity verification, help credit unions proactively identify and prevent account fraud-type losses, rather than merely shifting costs.
PPS solutions are scalable to meet the varying needs of all credit unions, according to Larry Spooner, President of PPS. “A variety of access methods and custom packaging make finding the right solution fast and easy”.
“When utilized in combination, they offer a highly comprehensive defense against the latest fraudulent schemes,” Spooner added. “With fraud and identity theft increasing, credit unions now more than ever need a simple, secure and reliable way to access these valuable tools.”
Stendahl added, “Using PPS’ solutions for fraud prevention can positively impact a credit union’s bottom line. These tools help prevent losses which results in a better Bond experience rating. If a credit union’s loss experience goes down, it improves their experience rating. And that translates into lower insurance costs”.
PPS currently works with hundreds of financial institutions, many of them credit unions. “Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union (West Lafayette, IN) has seen excellent results since going live with PPS in December 2002”, said Evelyn Royer, Assistant Vice President for compliance and risk management. “PPS has helped our credit union minimize its check fraud losses. Within three months of implementation, we recouped our initial investment”.
CUNA Mutual Group is the leading financial services provider to credit unions and their members worldwide, offering insurance, investment, lending and technological solutions through strategic relationships and multiple service channels.